When it comes to the conduct of pediatric clinical trials, there are number of things you need to consider in order to ensure the successful conduct of a study. From study design to logistics to recruitment, there are real differences between studies conducted in pediatric populations and studies conducted in adult populations.

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated the use of unique device identification or identifier (UDI), some people voiced concerns over the high cost of the requirement, as well as the technology challenges it posed. What is UDI and why is it important?

Thanks to constant leaps in scientific and technological innovation in recent years, we’re witnessing a steady (and very promising) trend toward combination products – those that merge two or more different types of regulated drugs, medical devices or biologics into one multi-faceted treatment. As more device and pharma companies join forces to develop combo products, the traditional industry and regulatory boundary lines between the two sectors become blurred, presenting medical product makers

A 510(k) is pre-market notification of medical devices to the US FDA. The number “510” refers to section of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. “k” is the subsection specific to pre-market notification. Details regulating the process, however, are found in 21 CFR §807.

Villains, like their heroic counterparts, have interesting and complex pasts. Their complexity can be strange at times and is often hard to comprehend. After all, they generally want to kill pretty much every living creature and that can be somewhat uncomfortable for “normal” humans to process. However, taking a look at a villain’s back story and his recurring behavior can help average human beings understand why villains are constantly trying to destroy love, joy, beauty and oh yes, that professional software you’re about to purchase.

Most companies establish standard operating procedures for compliance purposes, but that’s just the start and it doesn’t leverage the power of SOPs, according to Lillian Erickson, MasterControl’s global quality manager, in a recently published article in Fleet Maintenance magazine.

The current data show that an adult is likely to change employment at least a few times during his or her lifetime. Taylor Swift, on the contrary, is one of the rare individuals who most likely will never have to remake her career. However, surprises do happen, and would it be so far-fetched to imagine that at some point in the near future Taylor might take up auditing? And not just any auditing, but auditing for the FDA?

In psychology, people talk about knowledge and learning in terms of four levels: what we know, what we think we know, what we know we don’t know, and what we don’t know we don’t know. In the life sciences, the fourth level, what we don’t know we don’t know (or unknown unknowns, for short), carries the most risk in quality and compliance. If you are in a leadership position, the risks are even higher. After all, how can you provide the appropriate resources or strategic direction while operating in a knowledge void?